video vanguard award

Michael Jackson earned his title as King of Pop for his mosaic of entertainment talent and ingenuity—especially when it came to creating iconic music videos. With Thriller, Jackson introduced cinematography into music videos, turning what used to be simple live recordings into fully-fledged short films. The 13-minute video (which I performed in a summer camp talent show as a teenager, and still remember most of the moves) was MTV’s first world premiere.

The award celebrates “forerunners in the music video sphere,” according to Slate.

“MTV is legitimately the definitive arbiter on such matters. And their track record with the Vanguard has reinforced their authority: The first recipients of the award, in 1984, were the Beatles and Richard Lester, for the trailblazing A Hard Day’s Night, and David Bowie, for his groundbreaking films from the late ’60s and ’70s.”

Alicia Keys had a front row seat at the 2016 VMAs. Photo courtesy of MTV.

As always, the VMAs were a cultural phenomenon. We can quantify this in new ways thanks to social media. The 33rd annual ceremony drew nearly 50 million streams on Facebook, and tripled in Snapchat impressions since last year. According to Nielsen, the VMAs produced 90 percent of TV social conversation that night.